Legislature Passes Romeike Resolution

Senior Counsel Dee Black answers questions and assists members with legal issues in Tennessee. He and his wife homeschooled their children. Read more >>

On April 2, 2014, the Tennessee General Assembly passed House Joint Resolution 582, urging the Tennessee congressional delegation to influence the U.S. Department of Justice to ensure that the Romeike family is granted asylum. Governor Bill Haslam concurred by signing the resolution the next day.

The resolution noted that the Romeike family had arrived in the United States from Germany in 2008, fleeing fines, the threat of imprisonment, and the seizure of their children due to their decision to homeschool their six children based on a Christian curriculum.

The operative language of the resolution adopted by both the Tennessee House of Representatives and Senate stated, “that we hereby urge the Tennessee Congressional delegation to introduce legislation, and the United States Congress to enact legislation, that could restore asylum and establish a potential path to American citizenship for the Romeike family.”

Home School Legal Defense Association represented the Romeikes in a more than five-year litigation effort to obtain asylum for the family, but the legal route to a favorable outcome ended in March when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear their appeal. However, the Department of Homeland Security later notified the family that they could remain in the United States indefinitely.

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